December 27, 2013

On our own now :-)

21:20 and I’ve just sat down so this’ll be a quickie, I might be wrecked but I’m sure the rest of the island will be just warming up nicely for tonight’s bash at the village hall. I’d love to go but 5:30 starts and a fair old chance that there’ll be a ‘late run’ tomorrow rule that out, even if I did have the enthusiasm to drive down there now and back home at ‘stupid o clock’

Linnhe’s away

Leaving the house at just after 6:00am I was mortified to discover no radio reception on the ‘Old Girl’s’ ‘ICE system’ at least I think that’s the more modern term for the thing that I used to call a ‘radio cassette’ player before they went out of fashion. Actually it plays CD’s as well but I’ve heard mine all a gazillion times and I’ve kinda got used to John Humphries in the morning. To be honest it was more the foreboding of storm damage and power cuts that I was worried about rather than the lack of John’s dulcet tone. It hadn’t seemed half as bad as they were forecasting during the night but then we’re pretty sheltered from the south and south east so wouldn’t have felt it anyway.

A little gull http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/L/LittleGull/index.aspx in the middle of the road didn’t bode so well either, as I reckon he’d been grounded by the weather. He was so tired that I had to lift him out of the way, still a little further down the road I saw the lights of Portree then Braes burning. Still no word from John right enough so I settled for Leftfield’s classic

Leftism

The day at work was busy enough and brightened by a couple of otters playing around the ferry and at the other side of the pier.

Just check out those teeth!!

After the first relaxing day at work in weeks, nay months

I even got a lunch break

A spare crew arrived during the afternoon and took the MV Loch Linnhe away

and off she went to Mallaig

before heading off to relive another of the Cal Mac workhorses.

A couple of ‘wee glitches’ there with the weather station, dunno how I’ve ended up with two 57.3mph gusts and the rain seems a little pessimistic, still, I’m sure I’ll sort it out.

Happy Anniversary! More importantly, thank you. As a loyal reader I know the countless hours you have spent trying to upload pictures and content as well as search for posts you have sent hours laboring only to have then evaporate when you hit send! I sometimes visit your blogs a couple of times a day anxiously awaiting a new post. A big thank you to your wife as well as I’m sure the blog has taken away some precious time with her.
Here’s to 6 more years!
CHEERS!
Morgan

Hi Paul. Congratulations on reaching 6 years, I enjoy reading your blogs and appreciate the time & effort you put in, to post them. We’ve been on a fair few CalMac ferries over the recent years but never on your route – one day though we will make it and I will say hello if your on. Best wishes to you and your family for 2014.

great stuff Paul, keep it up and whens the book out? This lady did a similar thing from Orkney ( though she has now gone to Australia ) and her blog in the Scotsman, that a gap that has never been filled and was very popular indeed…worth a call / letter to the Scotsman? and if you have to come to Edinburgh I will be glad to put you up in my own home!

Congratulations on six years of entertaining and informative writing. Or should that be the other way round? I was much amused by the “laughing” otter coming immediately before the “Sleeping Beauty” shot. 😀

Paul,
Reading this blog I thought it must be warming up on Raasay, then I re read it, realised it was just a little otter.
Keep up the good work just goes to show over 1.5 million people are interested in your escapades, just imagine if in the space of the next twelve months they all visited your island the ferry would be very busy.